Structure evolution and magnetization properties of FeSiBCCr amorphous alloys prepared by spark plasma sintering

Abstract

FeSiBCCr bulk metallic glasses were prepared via spark plasma sintering, and the effects of holding time and heating rate on the structure and magnetization properties of powder compacts were investigated by SEM, TEM, XRD, DSC and VSM. The results show that when the holding time is increased from 10 min to 20 min, the internal porosity is reduced, and the amorphous fraction is decreased from 92.0 ± 1.7 % to 82.4 ± 4.3 % accompanied by the precipitation of fine nanocrystalline grains. When the holding time is increased to 30 min, the precipitation of the ferro-boron phase and growth of nanocrystalline grains lead to a significant deterioration of magnetization properties, although the compact density is significantly increased to 6.13±0.12 g/cm3. When the heating rate is increased from 20 K/min to 100 K/min, the activation energy of viscous flow is decreased and the compact density is improved due to the enhanced mass transfer. Moreover, the thermal stability of the amorphous material is also improved, effectively suppressing the grain coarsening and the precipitation of the ferro-boron phase. As a result, the saturation magnetic flux density is increased by 10 % and the coercivity is reduced by 83 %. The FeSiBCCr bulk metallic glasses prepared at a sintering temperature of 773 K, a heating rate of 100 K/min, and a holding time of 10 min contain an amorphous matrix with fine Fe2Si grains. And the compact has a density of 5.60±0.08 g/cm3, a saturation magnetic flux density of 1.03±0.03 T, and a coercivity of 15.9 ± 1.2 A/m, exhibiting promising magnetization properties and being expected to be used in medium and high frequency electronics.